Surging Spartans, Hoosiers Meet In Big Ten Quarters
3/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2002
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (AP)- Although Michigan State got hot too late to win another Big Ten championship, the Spartans are right on time to carry momentum into the conference tournament.
The Spartans seek their sixth straight win Friday when they face No. 23 Indiana in a quarterfinal game at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Michigan State (19-10) had its streak of four straight Big Ten titles snapped this season. The Spartans went 10-6 in the conference, finishing one game behind the four-way tie among Wisconsin, Ohio State, Illinois, and Indiana (19-10).
The Spartans look ready to grab their third Big Ten tournament championship, however, after a strong finish to the regular season. They certainly want to make amends for last season, when they were knocked out in the quarterfinals.
"It'll be a little different this year, not being favored," junior forward Adam Ballinger said. "The attention is more spread out. But we want to make a statement this week. We can settle a lot of things right here."
Michigan State closed with five straight wins, including its two best offensive performances of the conference season in its final two contests. The Spartans averaged 87 points in victories over Ohio State and Iowa, shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 64 percent from 3-point range.
"It's going to be a very difficult matchup," Indiana coach Mike Davis said. "They're a tough team to prepare for. It's going to take a lot of concentration for us to compete."
Marcus Taylor led the Big Ten with 17.7 points and 5.0 assists per game in conference play, but has been even better down the stretch. He scored 32 and 34 points in the last two games, and averaged 22.6 points and 6.0 assists during the winning streak.
Indiana ended up with the fourth seed and is the only one of the co-champions that didn't get a bye. The Hoosiers closed the season with a 79-67 victory over Northwestern to earn a share of their 20th conference title and first since 1993.
The Hoosiers reached the Big Ten championship game last season, but getting back there this year will be difficult because of injuries. Jared Jeffries has averaged just 8.6 points in five games since an ankle injury, and point guard Tom Coverdale was slowed by a sore back in the season finale.
Despite his injury, Jeffries was named Big Ten player of the year after averaging 15.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and a conference-best 2.13 blocks per game.
Michigan State and Indiana split a pair of meetings during the regular season. The winner advances to face top-seeded Wisconsin or ninth-seeded Iowa in the semifinals.
